German metalcore / melodic death metal vets HEAVEN SHALL BURN have just released a special new single and video, “Keinen Schritt Zurück,” featuring their longtime friends from the renowned German alternative/punk rock band DONOTS. This marks their first new music since they released a cover of Trivium’s “Pillars Of Serpents” at the end of 2022, and the highly successful album Of Truth And Sacrifice, which topped the Official German Album Charts at #1, reached #4 in Austria, and #6 in Switzerland.
This new track is not just a musical collaboration, but also a powerful statement reflecting both bands’ commentary on the current political climate. The video, directed by longtime collaborator Philipp Hirsch alongside guitarist and audio producer Alexander Dietz, can be watched above.
Maik Weichert, guitarist of HEAVEN SHALL BURN, commented on the collaboration: “At a first glance HSB and DONOTS do not sound very compatible. However, we are on the same page when it comes to our underlying taste in music, attitude and political stance, so it is not surprising that the bands have been friends for a long time. We have been discussing doing a song together forever and it was finally time to get serious about it. It was very important to us that this wouldn’t be some kind of sterile guest musician appearance, but that both bands would really operate at eye level and shape the song. We think the result is really something special, as it differs considerably from the bands’ respective sounds without being completely wacky. It was an exciting and rewarding experiment for all of us, and we’re extremely excited to see how it goes down with the people out there. Aside from the music the lyrics are very important to us. We hope that many people can identify with them as much as we do!”
INGO DONOT (vocals) adds: “For me, Heaven Shall Burn are one of the most extraordinary bands of our time and totally deserve becoming one of the biggest metal acts in the country. Their commitment against right wing policies makes the band even more valuable, because in my opinion there is still far too little clarity in the metal scene on the positioning and differentiation against backwards thinking, arch-conservative structures, racism and fascism on a broad scale. Heaven Shall Burn have clear punk and hardcore roots which are beautifully evident everywhere and which make this collaboration so logical for me. In the 30 years of our band history, DONOTS have always stood up for a peaceful, shared future and have always supported NGOs like ‘Kein Bock Auf Nazis’. Both bands are not only a great match in terms of people, but also share a very similar subcultural background. Guido and I in particular are big metal fans and enjoy bands like Entombed, Carcass, Nails, Sodom, Kreator, Slayer and co, so it was a huge pleasure for us to get to work on vocals and guitars in that style. It felt pretty intuitive thanks to the great pre-production that we received from Saalfeld. I think the result is great, I’m happy that punk and metal really do go hand in hand as well as I’ve always suspected, and we, DONOTS, are very grateful to HSB for the idea and the invitation! In return, we are happy to accept the fact that we all professionally meeting our maker in a Schützenhalle at the end of the video for ‘Keinen Schritt zurück’…”
In addition to the digital release, HEAVEN SHALL BURN has even more exciting news to share: “Keinen Schritt Zurück” will also be available as a limited edition 7” vinyl via their brand-new web shop. The vinyl will come in the following variants:
The B-side of the 7” features a cover of SLIME’s “Schweineherbst,” recorded with the German noise rock duo DŸSE and featuring Elf from SLIME on guitars. Guitarist Maik Weichert shares: “’Schweineherbst’ is an evergreen. Sadly, it hasn’t lost any of its lyrical relevance and fits perfectly into the year 2024. Covering a legend like Slime together with our buddies from DŸSE has been on our to-do list for a long time!”
HEAVEN SHALL BURN are: Marcus Bischoff – vocals, Maik Weichert – guitar, Alexander Dietz – guitar, Eric Bischoff – bass, Christian Bass – drums.
Catch the band live at the following dates:
